Simple Self-Actualization and Enlightenment from Within
I honestly have never really thought much about philosophy. But, if anyone looks at my life from the outside, they would say I have an unusual philosophy of life. But what actually is philosophy? It’s the study of something, obviously; or there wouldn’t be that ‘y’ at the end. But, the dictionary has these simple definitions:
“phiÃ?·losÃ?·oÃ?·phy
n. pl. phi�·los�·o�·phies
1.Love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline.
2.Investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods.
3.A system of thought based on or involving such inquiry: the philosophy of Hume.
4.The critical analysis of fundamental assumptions or beliefs.
5.The disciplines presented in university curriculum’s of science and the liberal arts, except medicine, law, and theology.
6.The discipline comprising logic, ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, and epistemology.
7.A set of ideas or beliefs relating to a particular field or activity; an underlying theory: an original philosophy of advertising.
8.A system of values by which one lives: has an unusual philosophy of life.” 13
I took philosophy in college, I think I enjoyed the class, but I’m not really sure. There seemed to be a lot of fluff and pomp; Socrates said this and Plato said that. It all boils down to fact that they explained something that is so simple; life; with such complicated ideas that in the process it lost its meaning. Life is not difficult; we’ve heard it before, ‘Don’t sweat the small stuff; and everything is small stuff.’. I’m not saying life is simple it just isn’t complicated. At least, not that complicated.
Life is justâÂ?¦life. There really isn’t a way to describe it; there are no words that would properly define it. Well, I take that back, a dictionary would define life as what it isâÂ?¦a word; but that is as far as it would go. Life is more than the word, though.
I am a fan of Bruce Lee. There is much that he has taught that I try to incorporate into my personal philosophy of life. Bruce Lee stated, “To see a thing uncolored by one’s own personal preferences and desires is to it in it’s own pristine simplicity.” This defines life for me, simplicity in its purest form. We are the ones who make life complicated; no one and nothing else does that for us. Now, as to what we need to do about this is, well, stop doing it.
The key to this is easy to understand. Many people externalize everything; their whole lives in fact. ‘I wonder what that person is doing? I wonder what’s going on with him?’ Never, ‘My feelings on what he is doing areâÂ?¦?’ Do not worry about what is without, concentrate on what is within. Look to yourself before you worry about others. I do believe, though, that one must stay aware of everything around them, inside them; be mindful of everything, just don’t let it affect you. When all is well within you, then you can work on making things well on the outside. Your happiness is key, not the other guy’s.
Life is too short to worry about the end of it and beyond. There is so much going on in the few seconds of any moment that one needs to pay attention. Not pay attention to the degree that something else passes by, but enough so that that instance does not.
Life obviously can’t be summed up with any words; it transcends them. This is partially why I feel it that it is impossible to associate life with philosophy. But, one can have a life philosophy; a way to live; a map for a journey that has no destination. My map that I strive to drive by every day is simplicity. I’ve been writing it for the last five hundreds words; simplify, simplify, and simplify! Do not make more of matters that require less. No one can really tell you how to live. They can share what has worked for them and then you can take it for what it is or compound on it to make it into a workable ethic for living ‘your’ life.
I think one of the best ways to get your life to a manageable level is to tone down the emotion. Emotions use up too much energy. I don’t mean curtail your emotion so much that it makes others think of you as having a dead heart; the ‘cold as ice’ syndrome. But, getting one’s emotions under control is key to simplifying one’s life. Be happy, but not so happy that you get locked up in the loony bin; be sad, but not so sad that you become depressed; be angry, but not so angry that it hurts you or others. See where I’m going? Simplify.
On to self-actualizationâÂ?¦ The definition of this is to basically set a goal and reach it, but more deeply it is to recognize one’s own potential and reach it – if not exceed it. The path to this is much of what I have already noted, but there is more to it. One must WANT to know more; the desire to be free of the shackles that one holds on to for dear life must be stronger than that dependency. A story, if you will, that will hopefully put it into perspective.
In a dark and desolate cave far beneath the ground, the people of this world have been chained up, forced to face a wall. The dancing figures on the cavern wall are the shadows cast from an unknown light source, and have become the reality of the bondage victims. In a dark corner of the cave, one of the victims of this false reality sets himself free and wanders listlessly to the exit. Blinded by the light above, he slowly makes his way up the stairs and into the outside world. When there, he finally see the truth to all the falsities which he has endured for so long. Then, being a man of good stature, he ventures back into the cave below to share his gift of enlightenment with the others. Receding back into the cave he is blinded by its darkness, but presses on to share his precious gift. When he finally gets there he tells the others of the wonders above. To his astonishment he is spat on and laughed at by them. He is told that these things are not wonders.
The shadows on the cave wall are the only reality that is accepted by the prisoners in the cave. “The idea of good appears last of all and is seen only with an effort”, says Plato at the end of ‘The Allegory of the Cave’ (506). A question most commonly asked is why don’t the others jump at the chance to become enlightened also, and release themselves from the bonds, which have held them since childhood? Yes, Plato gives a wonderful depiction of a common occurrence in life. Human beings have always dwell in shadowed truths, but Plato’s explanation for the occurrence is lacking in context, and needs more. It is widely believed that the main motivation of humans on this earth is to become enlightened or in another word self-actualized. If this is true then why don’t more people in Plato’s allegory jump at the chance to become enlightened? Ironically, and certainly debatable, a theory by the famous psychologist Maslow may hold the answer. It seems strange that by keeping themselves tied up while submitting themselves to the shadowed beliefs a person can become enlightened. Rational thinking will prove this to be different.
Plato says that the man who breaks free from these chains and sees the sun is a philosopher, but what about everyone else who is not? If it is a main motivation in the lives of humans to become self-actualized then they are obviously left to find their own path to enlightenment. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in order to be self-actualized a man must first take care of his basic needs. By sufficing these needs a man can find his own path to enlightenment.
The most basic of all needs are the physiological needs of a man. These are the need for air, food, drink, and temperature. For example, a man who is gasping for breath is not going to take time out to do something else until he has satisfied his need for oxygen. These needs are placed at the bottom level of Maslow’s hierarchy, for they are the most important. We can assume that the people in Plato’s allegory are already taken care of. They obviously are not suffering out of lack of these essential needs in life or else they would be dead. Therefore they have already progressed to the next level.
Once a man’s most basic needs are taken care of, he seeks to satisfy his need for safety. This includes things such as security from attack and avoidance of pain. There is no mention of danger of a bear attack or other dangers in the ‘Allegory of the Cave’ therefore this need must also already be taken care of.
With these primary needs taken care of, man proceeds to a sense of belonging and of being loved. These include such things as social interaction, and acceptance. The people in the cave have each other to converse with and as long as they keep a firm hold on their shadowed beliefs they will be accepted. A major point must now be made. Plato says that everyone lives in a world of shadowed beliefs. This is true. Of course, although it might not be right, it is sometimes for the better. If everyone lived in a world where he or she knew the absolute truth about everything then everyone would constantly be hurt and alone. The need for a sense of belonging would never be fulfilled and no one would be able to progress to the next level. So in keeping these shadowed beliefs people can ironically become closer to enlightenment.
Proceeding then to the next level we come to the need for esteem. This is the need to have fame, prestige, or just a feeling of overwhelming accomplishment. Reaching the main goal of someone’s life or becoming a mentor for a student could be included as examples of this. According to Maslow, after this level the apex of his hierarchy is then at the breaking point.
The apex of Maslow’s hierarchy is the need for self-actualization, the need to achieve one’s potential. At this point the people from the cave who have come this far are now ready to step into the sunlight and accept their full truth of everything that has been. They have become self-actualized through their own path in life and all their experiences.
Though philosophers such as Plato take much the same path to enlightenment that everyone else does they are ready to accept things that others may not be ready to at a much sooner time. Everyone must find his or her own Path to self-actualization. The road to it may be tedious but through taking care of their needs they can find the answers that they need. Some may take a little longer than others may and some may find different answers, but even if they live in a world of shadowed beliefs it is still possible to find and conquer the path to enlightenment.
